Graveslide
by GCAPDTL
Summary: After the demon fox is sealed within him, Naruto is taken away to another world completely unlike the one he is born into. Though he is happy with his new family, what will happen when he reunites with the old one?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guy's I decided to give a different story a shot so** **, this takes place in an alternate version of the Naruto universe, where the Akatsuki kind of take a backseat to what is happening. Also, there's an added surprise after Naruto is born. It will be a multi-crossover with the DC Universe, most prominently featuring Deathstroke. There will be some action using the DC side but it will be focused in Naruto-verse for most of it.**

Through the night air, a roar sounded as if to crack the sky itself. It was the Herald of a horror that the people of Konoha hoped would be sealed forever: the nine-tailed demon fox.

In the decades before, the demon was sealed in the body of a human in the hopes that such a vessel would be able to contain the monster's terrible power. On that night before the demon escaped, it's host was giving birth to her first child.

* * *

Earlier that night, Kushina Uzumaki was lying in bed as her labor began. The midwife had been fetched, and her husband, Hokage Minato Namikaze, was doing all he could to maintain the seal on the demon was secure. Even though he was on the brink of expending all of his chakra, he was determined to ensure the survival of his wife and child, even if it meant his own end.

"Hang on, Kushina! You can do this," he Hokage strained as he pushed back against the monster that was trying to escape.

"I can't! ...Sweet Kami, I can't do this," Kushina yelled through her pain. She had been told by her mother, and all of her friends who had children to expect excruciating pain, but their words did nothing to prepare her for how bad it would actually be.

"You can! You're doing this for our child! For us! You said this was going to be the happiest day of your life," he reminded her.

He was right. When Kushina learned she was pregnant, she was ecstatic about the upcoming addition to their family, and declared that she would never be happier the day the baby arrived. She remembered how she felt that day, and though the pain was as great as it was before, she was filled with a renewed resolve to see through her ordeal. With a pained smile, she tightly gripped her husband's hand, and proceeded with her birthing.

"The baby's crowning," the midwife informed, "Push, milady!"

Kushina was nearing the end of her ordeal. In only a few more moments, she would be holding a new life in her arms. With a final yell, the baby slipped forth into the waiting arms of the midwife to be swaddled. The mother's cries subsided as soon as she heard the cries of her newborn baby. "It's a boy," the midwife said after she clipped the umbilical cord and cleaned off the baby.

"A boy…" Minato exhaled as he nearly fell over. It was only his determination to keep the demon at bay that kept him on his feet. In all his years, he had never felt such an intense euphoria as he did in that moment. Now he was more determined than ever to succeed.

It was just as she thought it would be. In all of her happy moments, Kushina knew that this moment would outshine all of them, but only now did she realize how much. Her smile changed to relief and joy as she reached out to hold her newborn son. Before the baby reached her hands, her arms recoiled as she held her stomach.

"I don't think we're through here," the midwife said as she looked over the cringing woman.

"You don't mean...another one," Minato asked as he rested his chakra. Between the physical strain he put on his body to strengthen the seal on his wife's body, and the news he just heard, he fell to his knees at his wife's side. "It's alright. We can do this," he panted as he took his wife's hand once more.

The two parents looked over to their newborn son, and smiled as they thought about what was coming next. "Did we pick a name," Kushina asked her husband.

The truth was that they hadn't. Between their excitement for the baby's arrival, and their busy schedules, neither one of them had the time to discuss what they would name their child. Minato had an idea. His sensei wrote a book about a gutsy ninja who feared no enemy, and that's what he had in mind for his child. "What about the name, Naruto? Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze," he suggested.

"It's perfect," Kushina agreed, though her husband hadn't expected her to do so.

"And the other one?"

Kushina recoiled again and clutched his hand tighter as her labor began again. "Let's discuss that later," she said as she prepared herself for what was next. In the following seconds, her husband resumed his duty to maintain the seal, while she felt the same excruciating pain as before, when her first baby was born. She loosed a yell during the final push, but it was joined by a monstrous roar.

"NO! This isn't happening," Minato yelled before a burst of chakra sent him backwards. It was exactly as he feared: the beast was escaping, and was going to wreak its havoc on all around it. He readied his chakra to take himself and the monster to a safe distance, and his wife realized what was happening. "Kushina: I don't know any other way to say this, but I may not return. I want you to know, that I love you. And even though I only knew them for few moments, I love my children with all my heart. I want you to treasure them for the both of us when I'm gone." Before his wife could protest, he and the evil force that was escaping her disappeared from the room.

* * *

Many miles away, in a secluded field far beyond any settlements, Minato appeared on a hilltop overlooking the area. In the distance before him, he could see a great mass of chakra building in the sky. It started as a thread that soon expanded and took a greater form. What started as an amorphous stream of chakra soon took shape, and became a monstrous, nine-tailed demon fox.

"I know who you are, human," the monster's voice thundered across the field, "You are the shinobi Minato Namikaze."

"And I know of you, Kyuubi," Minato shouted back, "More than that, I know of your deeds. The people you've killed, the town's you've destroyed, the lives you've ruined." Fear nearly paralyzed his every nerve. He heard the stories of the nine tailed demon, and hoped the day where he would have to face it would never come. Now, he was talking directly to it, about to fight it to the death. "No good can come from our conflict, so I'm giving you this one chance to end this and return where you came from."

A booming laugh came from the demon at the other end of the field. "Reason is the product of fear, human," the demon answered. "It's the resort of those who cannot overcome what is before them."

The demon had seen right through him. Minato knew that he was nowhere near strong enough to do battle with such a beast, and it was giving him no other option. "Some would say it's unwise to fight a fearful opponent. It's when fear takes hold that the desire to live is at it's greatest. Your opponent would do anything to insure victory."

Once again, the monster laughed at Minato's words, "And what would you do to survive against the likes of me?"

"That's just the thing: I'm not the only one whose life is on the line."

That answer made the demon pause briefly. There was only one way to seal it away, and it would be at the cost of the sealer's life. If what Minato said was true, then he was not afraid to do what needed to be done, and was to be feared. "Yes… But I doubt you have such a heart, human."

The demon was done with the idle chattering. With a roar, it unleashed its power across the fields directly to Minato in the hopes of killing him. It was surprised to see its opponent disappear and reappear closer to it on the battlefield. Many more blasts were fired at Minato, and each time he disappeared out of their way, but at the same time, his advance was halted. He needed an opening, but he was receiving none. After so long, Minato knew that if the battle carried on like this, failure would be guaranteed.

Another wave of chakra passed dangerously close by him, and sent him flying backwards. Dazed, but unhurt, he began to stand, only to be assisted by another. After he was helped, many of the shinobi from the village went rushing past him to battle the nine-tailed monster.

"Lord Hokage! Are you alright!?"

The last thing that Minato wanted was outside assistance. Though he didn't doubt the resolve of any of his ninjas, he knew they were only putting themselves up for certain death if they fought against the Kyuubi. "What are you all doing here!? Go back and evacuate the village!" He would have forced the ninja who helped him to follow his orders, but something he saw stopped him.

In the distance, high on the hill he arrived on, he saw his wife holding something in her arms. He knew what it was, and what she was going to do. His heart nearly stopped at the revelation, and he immediately warped to Kushina's side. "Is that…" he began as he gently pulled the blanket that swaddled his son away from his face.

"Yes," Kushina confirmed, "It's Naruto."

"Kushina, we can't do this. Not to him, or his brother."

"It's the only way, Minato! We have to...for everyone…" Even though it broke her heart, she knew what was at stake, and she was prepared to do what was needed.

"Alright. But I have one request: let me hold him."

With a smile, Kushina passed their baby to her husband. He looked at the baby's peacefully sleeping face, and tried his best not to think about the kind of terrible things he was going to bring upon him after tonight was through. Worse still was that he wouldn't be there for him when he was most needed. He held his child close and the two rushed into battle.

The battle raged around them, and many died before them, which made them more determined to end the demon's terror. As soon as they were in range, Kushina unleashed her chakra chains to restrain the monster. Even though she was able to hold the kyuubi, Minato could see that having the demon escape her body was taking its toll on her.

Time was running out, and Minato needed to act fast. The ritual had to be completed if the demon was to be stopped, so he wasted no time beginning to seal his wife's chakra into his son. He placed the baby on the ground and began the first hand signs. An altar appeared to hold the new vessel. Next was summoned Gamabunta, the toad lord, who did his part by pinning the demon under his might. Now that everything was in place, he was ready to begin.

Now that the ritual was underway, Kushina dreaded it's completion. It would mean the survival of many, but it would also mean the death of the man she loved. But if it meant that her children were to live, then so be it. She saw his chakra building to complete the transference, but before he could finish, he made a sudden grunt, then he lurched forward and fell to the ground as someone hit him from behind.

Minato was unconscious on the ground, and standing behind him was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage of Konoha. From where he was on the battlefield, he could see Naruto, Kushina, and knew exactly what they were planning to do. He couldn't allow it. Though it moved him to see that they were ready to lay down their lives for their family, he knew that they both needed to live for the sake of their children, and that his time had come and gone. He was prepared to use the jutsu that Minato was going to use to seal Kyuubi, and it seemed that now was the time for him to use it in his place.

He began by replicating the hand signs that Minato was just doing. Kushina looks in horror as she sees the man who she respected going through with the Sealing Technique **Hakke no Fūin Shiki (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style)** "No! You can't do this! The village needs you Hiruzen-sama," Kushina tried to reason with him.

"Not anymore," Sarutobi answered, "I have done all I can for the people here. Now it's time for a new generation to take over. And besides, the boy will need his mother and father by his side." Kushina wanted to try to sway him, but the thought of being there as her children grew up stopped any arguments she wanted to make. "I'll be fine. You just look after your family for me when I'm gone," he finished with a small smile as he restrained the Kyuubi.

Kushina could see that he was not able to complete this on his own. She took her husband's hand, and drew a drop of his blood with her kunai. Now she had what she needed to truly turn the tide of the battle. With her husband's blood, she was able to summon the sealing toad, Gamatoru. No explanation was needed for the toad. The sight of the demon told him everything, and with all haste, he took his position to help with the sealing.

With the combined powers of the toad, Kushina's Adamantine Sealing Chains and the third Hokage, the ritual was coming to an end, and Sarutobi was able to rip half the soul of the demon away, sealed half into the baby and sealed the other half within his own body. He knew he was finished. As he was performing the seal, he could feel his life coming to an end, and now he could see the shinigami itself standing behind him as he looked back. But not before he used the last of his strength to heal Kushina from the damage she suffered as the demon's former vessel. Minato began to wake up, just before his soul was ripped from him.

It's work was done. The shinigami had been there when the boy was born, and now it was there again as his life was taking a surely dark turn. It looked over the child, knowing that death would follow him wherever he went, before it left to complete its work elsewhere.

Minato looked up from the ground, and saw the demon had gone. More so, that he was alive and well. He turned to see his wife alive as well, and holding their son in her arms. "Kushina," he asked in disbelief, "But...how?"

"The third Hokage…" was all she said. Minato looked to the direction of her gaze, and saw the still form of his predecessor. Though it saddened him that such a great man died, he knew the significance of his passing: he had been allowed to be there for his children.

"Come on. Let's go home. I'm sure his brother is being fussy to Lady Tsunade," Minato said with a smile. The casualties on the battlefield could be dealt with later. For now, the knowledge that his family would remain whole was all that mattered to him. Or, at least he would have wanted it that way.

Before they finished their first step home, a white light appeared around Naruto, and took him out of his mother's arms. Kushina gasped as she tried to reach for her baby, but he was soon beyond her reach. Try as they did, they both jumped for him, only to see him disappear.

They both landed with heavy hearts. "Our son…" Kushina sobbed. She knew why he disappeared, and only wished it was her who had gone. "Why would the demon take our son from us!?"

There was no comfort Minato could offer his wife, or even himself. Somewhere, his son was spirited away by a vengeful demon, and was surely to be tormented by it. All he and his wife could do was silently pray their son would be safe, wherever he was.

* * *

Far away from the world of shinobi, in a city called Gotham, the trees swayed in the wind, and the sun shined down on the sand of the beach. That day, the Wilson family was having their vacation among the other tourists who attended the sunny shore.

More accurately, their vacation at the beach ended, and they were going back to their car. They were an idyllic family that would make onlookers jealous of their happiness together. Slade Wilson was a tall, muscular man, who as far as his neighbors knew was a man of the military. Today, instead of his usual BDU, he was in a white muscle shirt and boardshorts. Next to him was his wife, Adeline Kane, who he met during his services. Many a man envied Slade for marrying a woman who was not only an intelligent, strong-hearted individual, but also such an attractive brunette, especially in the blue one piece swimsuit she was wearing. Running ahead was their blonde haired son, Grant, a wiry boy of about six, wearing a dinosaur t-shirt and swimming trunks. At that moment, he was enjoying the lollipop he was given that day, which he relished since his parents had him on such a strict diet.

"Mom, dad: do we have to go home after this," Grant asked his parents.

Slade looked down with an apologetic smile, "Yes. Unfortunately, I have to go back to the base after this," he answered as he affectionately ruffled his son's hair. They had reached the car by that time, and started to unlock it. "But I promise that on our next vacation: you get to pick where we go." He couldn't help but chuckle when he saw his son victoriously pump his fist. They were all getting into the car, when suddenly, Adeline stopped when she heard something.

"Do you hear that," she asked her family. Neither one of them said they heard anything, "It sounded like a baby crying somewhere."

"Probably some couple with a fussy infant," Slade said dismissively.

"No," Adeline rebutted. She could hear the direction it was coming from, and it was nowhere near where a baby should be. Not in any back alleys like the ones nearby. She left to investigate the cries she heard, despite the protests of her family. Even so, if it wasn't a baby, Slade was sure she must have heard something. After all, she wouldn't go off for no reason. He decided to accompany her and led his son away with him.

As they grew closer, Slade and Grant began to hear the wailing as well. After going down one alley, and turning down another, Adeline shifted a trash can to the side and found a baby swaddled in a blanket and set in a cardboard box. With a gasp, she reached down and picked up the infant, cooing and whispering to quell its cries.

"Who would leave a baby here," Adeline wondered aloud as she gently rubbed the baby's forehead.

"From what I gather: this kid's been abandoned," Slade answered grimly, the thought of abandoning an infant welling up his rage. Who would leave a baby abandoned in this part of the city? "We should probably take him somewhere. A hospital, or social services."

"No, Slade. A baby this young needs a family to look after him! Not a social worker," she answered, not believing her husband could so much as think such a thing.

Slade knew that the responsible thing to do was to take the baby somewhere to see if he could its family could be found, but a larger part of him knew that his wife would never forgive him if he did such a thing. "I...I guess we can go through the channels to take him in," he answered unsurely.

"Does that mean I'm his brother," Grant asked curiously.

"Not yet, but soon," Adeline answered with a smile as she and her family walked back to the car. The entire walk was filled with future plans, the parents discussing what to do to make their discovery a part of their family, and Grant figuring out whether or not he wanted to share his room with the baby.

As the family drove off happily chatting away, Slade briefly noticed a figure in his rear view mirror who was watching them. She was deathly pale, which starkly contrasted her pitch black hair, and dressed in blue jeans and a black t-shirt with a symbol of an ankh on the front. More curiously, he noted the look of intrigue on her face, and would have thought more of it, if he hadn't rounded a corner and lost sight of her.

"Dear? What's wrong?" Adeline asked her husband when she noticed the suspicious look on his face.

"It was nothing, I guess," Slade replied, even though the girl he saw sent a shiver down his spine. But it soon passed when he glanced over at his wife, and the wriggling bundle in her arms..

Back in the parking lot, the girl Slade had seen looked on with a smirk on her face. She had seen many strange things in her many, many years, but none so strange as this. "First a kid's born in The Dreaming, and now this," she remarked, recalling the news her younger brother once gave her so long ago. She was there when Naruto was born, and saw when the demon was sealed in his body. Now, through Destiny's odd machinations, the same baby was born once more in a completely different world. "I don't know what's in store for you kid, but I'm definitely going to keep an eye on you," and with that final statement, she left to the beach to join a game of volleyball.

 **I hope you enjoyed it! Please Review what you think and be honest. If you flame, I challenge you to do better, in fact i encourage you to beat me, I would be happy to read your work. Be safe have fun!**

 **En Taro Adun!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N Hey guys, here's Chapter 2, this is just a bit of informational chapter in his childhood. I promise you wont be disappointed with chapter 3. I'm looking for a beta reader and someone who i can bounce ideas off of. If your interested please PM me OK?**

 **Chapter 2** **Growing Up**

After the Wilson family returned home from the finding of the baby, Adeline and Slade made a few calls trying to put the word out there about a missing baby. Even though Adeline was sure that he was abandoned and had no family, she decided that her husband's option was the more sensible one.

Weeks passed, and nobody claimed the baby. There were no records of his birth, and a DNA test yielded no results for any living relatives. It was as if the baby appeared from nothingness. It was decided that the baby may have been born to some vagrant, and subsequently abandoned shortly after birth. After so long, the Wilson family went through some more channels, this time to go with Adeline's option and adopt the boy. When the happy day came, they gave him his name: Nathaniel Slade Wilson.

After everything had been taken care of, and they were granted legal custody, the family went about preparing their house for their newest family member. They had saved everything from when Grant was a baby: the crib, old clothes, toys and the like, in the hopes that one day they would be able to have another baby when they were ready. They had been trying beforehand, but now it seemed that they had been given another one so unexpectedly.

That night, Slade was at his computer, conducting business for a client he had acquired during his military services. One that wasn't anything on the books, or within the boundaries of the law. One that he wasn't inclined to tell his wife about, so he closed the window he was on in favor of a game of solitaire when his heightened awareness alerted him to her walking down the hall towards him.

He pretended not to notice her quietly walking up behind him, and allowed her to 'surprise' him by swiftly swiveling his chair around and sitting on his lap. "It's all happening so suddenly," she said as she wrapped Slade's arm around her waist, "You'd think that it's the kind of thing that happens in movies, or a fairy tale where a family finds an abandoned baby. But look at us now."

Slade himself hadn't suspected that such a thing would happen to him. But just like Adeline said, he was now living a scene from a movie he had seen once, and regarded as fantasy. "Movies don't even come close to how it really feels to save a baby's life," he answered, "How's Nathaniel doing?"

"He's asleep right now. I just got him to bed."

"Do you think it's going to be easier this time? Now that we've had one baby, do you think we can use what we learned this time," he asked as he put his other arm around his wife.

"Of course. Even if he's as fussy as Grant was at that age, I'm sure we can handle it."

"Raising a baby isn't exactly like riding a bike, you know."

"Oh, Slade! Stop worrying so much. We did so good the first time, and Grant's already taken to being an older brother so easily. We'll be fine," she reassured him. Of course, over the weeks since they found Nathanael, she noticed a new development, and was waiting for the right time to spring the news on her husband. She decided that now was as good a time as any. "You know, if we hadn't found Nathaniel, we'd have to use our parenting skills anyway."

Slade had a feeling about what she meant. Even though his brain functioned much faster than the average human, he still had a little trouble comprehending what he was just told. Adeline drove the point home for him when she moved his hand over her stomach and had him rub it. He let out a quiet laugh at the news, "Already? We just had one."

"We just _found_ one. Now we're having another one," Adeline excitedly informed him. Their family was growing so fast it made their heads spin. To them, it was too wonderful for words. Nothing could ruin their future now.

* * *

Through the six years that passed since that day, the family remained happy as ever. Adeline and Slade's second baby was named Joseph, and Nathaniel and Grant took to him readily as anything. The children did their parents proud with their performances in school, even if Nathaniel was a slight mischievous. Through it all, they remained a very happy family. But they were not without their troubles.

That night, Nathaniel woke up to find that he was not in his bed. He looked around, and he saw himself in a sewer of some kind, with dank, dimly lit tunnels that went on infinitely in every direction he looked. Even though he was alone, he felt like there was someone else there with him who was watching him, making the boy wish someone were there to protect him.

"Mom! Dad! Anyone! Hello," he called out to the dark, only to be answered by his own echo. He knew that staying put wouldn't get him out of where he was, so he went with his only option and walked down one of the tunnels, hoping to find an exit.

He wandered through the sewers, taking a turn at any junction he could find that wasn't blocked off by a grate. After so long, he tried calling to the dark again, "Helloooooo!"

Silence followed, and made Nathaniel realize that he really was alone, wherever he was. He was about to start crying when he heard an answer to his calls. "This way…" a voice came faintly from somewhere in the sewer. Even though he should have felt relieved to know someone was with him, he didn't like the voice he heard. It was low, and beastly, like no voice he ever heard before. He wanted to run away from it, but whoever the voice belonged to, they were the only other person down there with him. He fought against his desire to run and slowly followed the direction he thought the voice came from.

Even though he only heard the voice once, he felt like he knew where it had come from, and allowed his instincts to guide him until he stopped in front of what looked like a gate with a symbol on the front of it that didn't look like anything he saw before. "Mister? Are you in there," Nathaniel asked as he approached the gate. He was nearly in front of it, when suddenly, four monstrous claws burst between the bars and made him fall over backwards.

Nathaniel stood back up, afraid of what may have been behind that gate, but at the same time, he was too afraid to run away. His fears mounted more and more when he saw two red eyes open from the darkness, followed by a fanged smile. " **What have we here? A little kit separated from his parents,"** the beast behind the gate said.

"Wh-What are you," Nathaniel stammered.

" **You know perfectly well who I am,** " the monster answered, " **I've been with you since you were born. And now that you're here, I command you to release me, brat!"**

Nathaniel didn't actually know who, or what, was behind that gate, but he knew for a fact that it was nothing good. "N-No…"

The monster behind the gate let out a low growl at his answer, " **You resist now, but in time, you'll have no choice but to rely on my power, human! And when that happens, you'll have no choice!"**

With the beast's final shout of rage, the world around Nathaniel turned black, and he began to scream.

* * *

Slade had been awake at that hour, contacting an old military friend for a contract for his discreet mercenary work as Deathstroke the Terminator. He heard his son's scream and rushed to his room to see what the problem was. He found his son sitting up in his bed, shivering and crying. "Nate, what's wrong," he asked as he put his arm around the boy, pulling him close for a side hug trying to calm the boy's nerves. Shortly after, Adeline entered the room, saw that Nathan and Slade were on the bed hugging. She saw how shaken up Nathan was and sat on the other side of him and started rubbing his back.

Nathan took a bit to calm down a bit before he recounted the entire experience to his parents, who both assured him that it was only a dream, and wouldn't actually be able to hurt him. It did nothing to make the boy feel better, so Slade offered to stay with him until he went back to sleep, allowing Adeline to get back to bed. He soon fell back to sleep, and allowed Slade to make his clandestine negotiations.

* * *

In a different world that humans only visited, a being lived, who was the very embodiment of dreaming and stories that were told. He was known to some as Morpheus, and to others, he was The Sandman. But no matter what he was called, he was Dream, the watcher and protector of human dreaming.

In his realm, he was watching over the inspiration of a struggling playwright, but his vigilance was disturbed by a vile disturbance that he recognized from only one force so powerful. Something that was once housed in the consciousness of a young woman named Kushina. "Kurama...After so long, I wondered if you would appear again," he mused aloud. After what had happened in the other reality known as the Elemental Nations, he was certain that the demon would be free, and not remain a prisoner. But his expectations changed when Destiny twisted the boy's fate with the demon's. But it was a surprise to him that only now was Kurama making himself known.

He knew the fate of many who carried demons, and though he wasn't sure how or why, he knew that Nathaniel was needed in some ways. "Perhaps, it would be prudent for my siblings and I to offer our guidance," he thought to himself as he felt Nathaniel enter his realm again.

* * *

Nathaniel awoke in the sewer again, and was immediately gripped by fear of the monster finding him again. But his fears came from a new source this time. In front of him, shadows swirled with grains of sand like stardust, slowly taking the shape of a tall, imposing figure. After a few second, Nathaniel was confronted by a very tall, very pale man, who was dressed from head to toe in a pitch black robe, with wild black hair that stuck out in all directions. Most frightening of all were his solid black eyes, that showed no trace of any warmth or emotion.

The boy cowered before the tall man, until he realized that behind him was the gate that held back the monster from before. Also present, was a young girl, though she was much older than himself, sitting in a fetal position in front of the gate and shuddering quietly. As Nathaniel looked at her, he could see her hair gradually changing colors, as did the style of clothes she was wearing.

"Hello, Nathaniel," the tall man greeted surprisingly politely in a voice that sounded hollow and husky. His greeting did no good to ease Nathaniel, who was frightened that the man knew his name. That, coupled with his appearance made him want to join the girl on her fetal position. "You have no reason to be afraid. I'm here to help you," he offered to the boy, who stared back.

"Are you a monster too," he asked fearfully

"Not in the slightest. You may think of me more as a guide for you," the man answered.

Despite what he said, Nathaniel had trouble believing him. The man's appearance was frightening, but not so much as the feeling of terror that his presence brought upon him. "You mean, like a teacher," he asked fearfully. In his days at school, his teachers were horrible, withered husks of human beings, but the man before him was worse than any of them.

"In a way: yes, I am," the man answered.

"A teacher...An angel...a savior...I knew an angel once...He had such a wonderful singing voice," the girl behind Nathaniel quietly babbled to herself.

The man was frightening enough, but the girl was making him even more anxious. She was a perfect nightmare, disturbing and spreading her mishmash of cluttered thoughts to others around her. Nathaniel could almost feel his sanity slipping away from him the more he watched her appearance change gradually before him.

"Don't you mind her," a new, much lower voice came from behind him, "Our sister has trouble collecting her thoughts sometimes." When Nathaniel turned to see who the newcomer was, he saw it to be a very large man, not as tall as the first one, but much bulkier and more muscular, with fiery red hair. Unlike the others, he appeared perfectly normal, like someone he would have seen walking down the street on any given day. He was dressed in a plaid, flannel shirt, tattered blue jeans, but strangely, he was barefoot.

"Are you my teachers too," Nathaniel asked of the other two.

"Are you going to teach us," the girl asked as she flinched backwards.

"She means, 'yes,'" the large man, "If you want: you can call me Joe."

Out of the three others who were present, it was Joe who made him the least uneasy. Unlike the others, Joe had a much more human aura about him. One that had warmth and welcoming, but at the same time, Nathaniel could feel something powerful within him that made him feel unafraid. "I'm Nathaniel," he introduced himself unsurely.

All of them knew who he was, but Joe humored him with a pleasant reception. "It's nice to meet you, Nathaniel. Over there is my sister. You can call her Mania," he said as he indicated the trembling girl. He then turned his attention to the pale man, "And him…" Joe hesitated briefly before he continued, "You'd better call him what he wants you to call him."

"It does not matter what the boy calls me. Only that he heeds my words," the pale man answered flatly. He then drifted towards Nathaniel, who tried to back away, but was stopped when Joe gently placed his hand on his shoulder. The tall man stopped in front of the boy, and looked down before he spoke to him. "I need you to understand that whatever transpires here, whatever you see or wherever you go, you must keep it to yourself. If you were to tell anyone, it would be disastrous to all you love."

With a shiver, Nathaniel nodded in a agreement. If anything, he wanted to insure the safety of his family during his dealings with these people. Dream could see the earnestness in the boy's face, and wasted no time starting, "Then let us begin."

In the blink of an eye, the pale man before Nathaniel disappeared, and in his place was another who was the most monstrous human being he had ever seen. He too was dressed in a cloak, but he was much older and weathered. The pale man's eyes were scary enough, but the older man's three eyes, coupled with his horns, made Nathaniel want to run away screaming. It was only Joe's gentle grip on his shoulder that kept him from obeying his impulse.

The monster man approached the gate, and stopped short of the range of the monster's claws. From the darkness behind the gate, Nathaniel heard the monster's voice again. " **Who dares to disturb the great Kyuubi? The mightiest of the nine,"** the voice rumbled before the horrible red eyes opened from the dark. At first, they opened in an annoyed glare, but when he saw who approached him, they widened in surprise. " **Father,"** the demon asked quietly.

"Yes, Kurama. I trust you have been good to your siblings," Dream answered. He knew that the demon would not be fooled by any old disguise, so he copied it's creator down to the slightest detail, even his chakra signature.

The demon, now known as Kurama, extended a claw through the bars, past Mania, who tentatively watched the monstrous appendage next to her.

Dream, in the form of the Sage of the Six Paths, reached out his hand, and touched it to the claw of the beast, and passed to the demon the chakra of it's creator.

A connection was made once more between creator and creation. In the centuries since his imprisonment, Kurama's hopes of ever seeing his father again. Now they were reunited, and his liberation was at hand. The demon could barely contain his excitement at the prospect of freedom, " **I've waited so long for this day. Father, release me from this vessel, so that we may lay waste to the lands once more."**

"In due time, Kurama. As of now, you must earn the right to freedom."

Kurama did not like the idea of having to delay his freedom, but he knew the sage to be a man of his word. He had waited this long, so waiting a little longer would be nothing if it set him on the path to his release. " **What must I do?"**

"In order to be set free, your vessel must first become stronger," Dream instructed, much to the regret of the demon, "You must help the boy realize his potential. Nourish his growth, and allow him to learn your power for his own."

The idea did not go over well with Kurama one bit. He was never one to disobey his father, but this was enough to make the demon growl quietly. His disdain was silenced when he saw the way his father was glaring back at him. "I understand fully well that you would rather choose oblivion over this existence. But, in time, you will learn that this is the easiest path for you. If you stay to it, I foresee you growing close and bonding with the boy."

Kurama saw no future where he would possibly become friends with his vessel. He knew that any future they had together would end with the boy's death at his claws, but that wasn't what mattered to him. All that he wanted was his liberation, and he was going to take the first steps toward it. " **Very well, then...I'll do it."**

Now it was time for their part. Dream had called his siblings there for a reason, and now it was their time to do their part. They could all sense Nathaniel's fear, and knew that he wanted nothing to do with the monster behind the gate, but they also knew that he needed the fox's power if he was to survive his surely harsh life.

"Nathaniel," Joe began, "Before you start, you need to understand the force that you're dealing with. You know what your parents do for a living, yes? And the weapons they use?" Nathaniel said nothing, and made no motions, but the look on his face was more than enough to let Joe know that he understood what he was talking about. "Then you should know that what you are about to be given is many, many times more powerful and destructive than anything they have. In comparison, the guns they use are going to be like ants next to the natural disaster that you'll be using."

Nathaniel read many books that covered many subjects, and from them, he learned about things like hurricanes and earthquakes. Now he was being told that he was going to team up with a monster that was as powerful as any of them. Truthfully, it frightened little Nathan, having that kind of power rest inside of his body.

"It's a lot take in, I know," Joe gently said as he knelt down to Nathaniel's level, "It's very scary to have something so destructive at your disposal. I personally don't enjoy the idea of hurting others, but it's something you can use to protect your family."

Nathaniel wished he could have woken up and be back in his bed with his family. He didn't want to be in that sewer anymore with all those strangers and the monster. Even more still, he didn't want to have to spend more time with the demon to learn from it. But still, the thought of protecting what was precious to him won out over his fear.

"I'll do it," he said simply, "I won't let anything happen to them. I won't give up, and I won't be afraid anymore!"

The six year old's determination and pluckiness brought a smile to Joe's face, while over by the gate, Mania giggled quietly as she recalled herself at that age, and how similar she was to him, but then, naturally, her mind wandered off on a tangent that pertained to nothing at hand. But she had to stay on track if she was to do her part for the boy. "Do you know...the definition of insanity," she asked Nathaniel.

"It's going crazy, isn't it," the boy answered.

"Only half correct. It's doing the same thing...over, and over, and over...and expecting something to change," Mania elaborated. She didn't like the way she was feeling now, with her thoughts so collected and organized. "Changing, like caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly. Only to be caught in a net of doubt and frenzy!" Nathaniel was taken aback by her random thought patterns, but Mania felt better for loosening her chokehold on herself.

"Someone told me to tell you that you need to limit your use of power. If you keep it limited...I don't think I know what happens then...But I know that if you use too much, you'll lose yourself to the giant fox's power," she said, wide eyed and shivering, "And what would happen to the family if they lost one of their own...I don't know...I don't know anyone who lost a family member before...At least, I don't think I do…"

"She means well, Nathaniel," Dream assured him, "I know she can be a bit...off putting. But she didn't choose to be who she is." It wasn't much of a comfort for the boy, but he felt less on edge now.

The time had come to start Nathaniel's lessons. With them all watching over him, they would be able to keep him on the right path during his lifetime and keep the demon at bay. "If you're ready, then it's time to begin," Dream said, and in a blink of an eye, he, Destruction and Delirium all disappeared, along with Kurama. Nathaniel was alone now, and gradually felt himself growing lighter and lighter until he opened his eyes and found himself back in his bedroom. A quick look out the window, and he saw it was morning. He sat up in his bed, feeling better about himself, knowing that it was all a dream.

" **It was no dream, brat,"** he heard a voice in his head say. A voice that he knew all too well, " **The deal was that I help you grow stronger, and that is exactly what I'm going to do until I break free."**

Nathaniel would have been afraid, but he knew that even though he couldn't see them, Joe, Mania, and that tall, scary man were keeping him safe from the monster. "Fat chance of that," he whispered to the monster, wherever it was, "By that time, I'll be so strong, you'll never get out."

He heard quiet laughter from the monster before it started speaking again, " **We'll see about that, brat. It will only be a matter of time."** And the demon's voice fell silent. Now Nathaniel was completely alone. At the current time, his parents wouldn't be awake for another half hour or so to get him up for school. He figured that he shouldn't wait for them to get his day started, and began making his breakfast.

 **YAY! Chapter 2 is done! Please review, I love nothing more than to hear your reactions to what i've done. Ideas and suggestions are welcome as well. Flamers again, if you don't like my work, I challenge you to write one as well and i will gladly help or share ideas to progress your story along.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey** **guys, not much to say except enjoy!**

 **Chapter 3**

 **14 years later**

 **Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! B-**

Nathaniel groaned lethargically as he brought his palm down hard on the snooze button of his alarm clock. With a low growl, he looked at the time and saw it to be 4:45 in the morning. With a grunt, he pushed the clock off it's stand, sat up and rubbed his face to get the sleep out of his system. He threw off the covers, then slid over to the edge of his bed where he stood up to do his morning stretches. No longer the short boy he was before, but now a man of 6' 1" with an athletic build that made Nathan the adonis most women drooled over.

After the stretches, he went to the bathroom to shave off any excess whiskers. That is, except for the whisker-like birthmarks on his face. Still not quite awake, he stared at his blonde-haired, blue-eyed visage, but what drew his attention was the scar he had on his face, that extended from his right eye to the left of his chin. To him, it was a symbol of focus, since it was a lack of focus that made him earn it during weapons training with his dad during his teen years. Nathan rubbed the scar out of habit still remembering that day.

With the emphasis of focus in mind, Nathaniel went about his routine for the morning. After his shave, he walked over to his dresser and changed into a pair of sweatpants, a plain white t-shirt, a gray hoodie, and a pair of running shoes. Then he walked to his nightstand, collected his phone, headphones, keys and wallet, and exited his apartment.

After locking his apartment, he turned around and briefly took in the view of the streets of Gotham. Here was a city so rampant with crime, that nobody noticed the terrible things that happened anymore. Not even guys like Batman, or Hitman were able to keep the city crime in check, but, hey: it was home. He put his musings behind him and began his early morning jog around Gotham.

It was actually more like a run, and with his constant training, and his active chakra network, he could go as fast as a full speed bicyclist, but kept it on the downlow to avoid attention. When he could he would take to the rooftops and run freely, while keeping an eye out for any do-gooder who wanted to start trouble.

After a run around the city, he arrived at docks where his real workout would begin, inside a secret training ground he built in an abandoned warehouse. To anyone else, it was nothing but a derelict building that was in dire need of demolition, but to Nathaniel, it was his personal playground where he could hone his skills free from the prying eyes of the so-called 'Hero community.'

"Alright, time to get this party started!" Nathan thought to himself.

" **Brat, this isn't time for a party! You're supposed to be training!"** an angry voice growled in Nathaniel's head.

"Aw, put a sock in it, Kurama-sensei, it's a figure of speech," Nathaniel nonchalantly answered to the demon within him, "I'm only hyping myself up." He bit his thumb, drawing blood and wiped it on the door, disarming the seals that held it shut, and stepped inside to the makeshift gymnasium where he could fully unleash his chakra abilities. It was only the sealing techniques Kurama taught him that absorbed the damage that would have brought the roof down on them.

The warehouse had a huge selection of things for Nathan to use for self training. He had assembled a weapons rack, with tools that ranged from Kunai to bo staffs to swords to firearms and special equipment to use against any superhuman opponent he may need it for. At one end, there was a indoor firing range and silencing seals placed on the walls to stop the sounds from escaping, and alerting any nearby do-gooders.

Near the entrance, there was a workbench where Nathaniel can dismantle his weapons and clean them without too much clutter and create new seals if need be. It was complemented with a bookshelf that contained reading material on several subjects, including: gun handling, weapons maintenance, and a special book he received as a joke from one of his teachers, George Harkness: Throwing Weapons for Dummies. Everything he was taught by his dad was on that shelf, and it was kept as a refresher for his training when he needed it.

In the middle of the floor, there was a training mat, where he could fight his clones, or his dad if he decided to come by. Off to the side was a full body training dummy where Nathan practiced his throwing skills, and his pressure point attacks.

The entire upper floor had been converted into a gymnastics course, and it started by a wall that led up to the first set of monkey bars.

Over in the corner, there was a pedestal for his costume that he built himself using the money from his first mercenary jobs, as well as the profits from the books he wrote during his civilian job as the author of the fantasy series The Talion Chronicles. It was about a man who was a warrior who lost his family during an invasion to a vicious enemy, was denied death and was called the Gravewalker by his foes, for no matter how many times they killed him, he returned to finish them off.

 **(I love the Shadows of Mordor game, if you can you should try it yourself.)**

Last but not least, his Room of Destruction. A HEAVILY modified room, which was mixed with titanium and damage suppression seals to contain his most powerful Jutsus.

It was time to start, his training. The first thing Nathaniel did was strengthen his Gravity Seals to increase the strain on his body as he traversed his obstacle course. After years of using training weights, he graduated to the point that he needed a way to keep his chakra abilities under control. After the seals, he took off his sweatshirt and stepped onto his training mat. He walked to the middle of it, and assumed a seiza position to meditate on what he would focus on that day. Instead, he ended up reminiscing on some things from the past.

He recalled when he was ten years old, watching a martial arts tournament on TV, and witnessed a spectacle that would influence his future skills.

* * *

Young Nathaniel sat on the couch, eyes fixated on the screen in front of him. He and his brothers loved watching martial arts tournaments, but tonight, he was on his own, while Grant was setting the dinner table with their mom, and Joseph had his nose stuck in a Batman comic.

The match on TV had just begun, and the fighter from South America let loose with a style Nathaniel had never seen before. It was began as a slow, hypnotic movement that made the fighter's body wave and move all across the ground around him. It was when his opponent made his first move that he unleashed an astonishing flurry of spins, kicks, crouches, dodges, handstands, jumps and cartwheels that captivated the boy.

Adeline turned from the stove with the pot of spaghetti and meatballs in her hands, then set it on the table. When she went to retrieve her two younger sons, she found Nathaniel captivated by the match on TV. "What's tonight's match, honey," she asked.

His mother's question snapped him out of his trance, but his eyes remained on the screen when he answered, "The English guy's using Mantis Kung Fu. But the other guy- I don't know but it looks so cool how he's zipping around and kicking a lot!"

"You like it, huh," Adeline answered after seeing the fighter for only a second and immediately recognizing his style. "It's called 'Capoeira,' and it's one of the most difficult styles to master. These days, it's mostly used as a sport, but it's extremely dangerous in a combat situation."

His mother's description and the flair of the style sank into young Nathaniel's mind. He had been training secretly with Kurama for years in something called 'chakra.' But what good was walking up walls and jumping fifty feet into the air to protect his family? If he could learn how to fight, then he would able to fulfill his desire to keep the people he loved safe.

With a newly kindled enthusiasm, Nathaniel stood up on the couch and raised his fist into the air, "I'll do it! When I grow up, I'll learn Martial Arts, and be the world's best whether it be my fist or weapons! I'll be so powerful that nobody will get close to my precious people! That's a promise!"

It was too funny for Adeline to put into words. All his life, Nathaniel had a tendency for melodramatics, but this outburst topped them all. But, like any parent, she knew a way to keep him from going on, and to help him in his schoolwork at the same time. "If you're going to be that good, then you're going to have to pick up your grades first."

Hearing that made Nathaniel lose his balance and fall forward off the couch. "What!? Mom, we're talking about my future here! I've seen the soldiers you and dad work with! Do you think they needed straight A's to learn how to fight? That one guy's a D-average at best!"

"That's true. But they don't teach Martial Arts in school, young man. So if you want me to pay for your lessons, you'd better get B's or better in all of your subjects from now until you graduate," his mom answered. She had seen his latest report card, and saw how his grades were slipping. But now she had a way to motivate him, and hoped he'd go for the bait. After a bout of sputtering about unfair mothers, Nathaniel conceded to the deal. Adeline giggled at how easily he fell, but it was to be expected, since Nathaniel never backed down from something he wanted. She didn't know then, but she would regret it in the future when he actually upheld his end of the bargain.

"Come on, boys. It's dinner time. Spaghetti and meatballs tonight," she said, and her boys ran up the stairs past her to get to the kitchen. "And don't forget to wash your hands before get your plate! That means you, Joseph!"

"Mom," Joseph whined, embarrassed on being called out in front of his older brothers, who were snickering at their little brothers plight.

"Grant, get off your phone. This is dinner time, not a 'Gossip Girls' rerun," she scolded the oldest brother, getting Nathan to laugh and Grant to put his phone down grumbling.

* * *

Nathan's face twitched from where his scar was, and he stood up from his seiza. With one final stretch, he was ready to take on the training ahead of him. With his mind now focused, he said aloud to himself, "Time to get started." He cracked his knuckles, extended the first two fingers on each hand, and crossed them in front of his face, " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** In a burst of smoke, he was now surrounded by 4 exact copies of himself.

With a mental command, his shadow clones took their position in front of him, and assumed their fighting positions. With a smirk on his face, he instructed them all, "All right guys! We are here to kick ass and chew bubble gum. Which sucks, 'cause I forgot my damn gum!" A few of the clones rolled their eyes and face-palmed, as only Nathaniel would reference an old game like that. "Okay, we know the drill: come at me with everything you got and don't hold back." When he finished, he lowered himself into a fighting stance, and charged the nearest clone.

Nathan rushed in, cocked his fist back, and pounded the closest clone in the face, making him fly away.

Two clones rushed up to throw haymakers at their creator. Nathaniel ducked, put his hands on the ground and kicked one clone in the jaw, sending it into the other clone, and making both dispel.

Without missing a beat, Nathaniel spun to his feet, and used his motion to roundhouse an approaching attacker. He kept his momentum going, and brought his other foot across the clone's face making him fall to the ground.

Once done, another clone tackled him to the ground. Nathaniel put his hands up into a guard to protect himself while his clone straddled him, and unleashed a flurry of open palm strikes to his face.

Nathaniel open palmed the clone's ear, making him flinch. He then thrust his hips up and exchanges places with the, dispelling him with a throat strike.

He rolled to the side as the final clone, who he knocked away first, flew in with his fist hitting the mat, causing a small shockwave. Nathaniel got on his feet and resumed his offensive.

Nathaniel ran up to the clone and delivered a knee to the clone's midsection, which was dodged and retaliated with a straight to Nathaniel's jaw. Nathaniel dodged the blow, and came back with an uppercut, which finished off the last clone.

Once he dispelled every clone, he walked over to the weapons rack, grabbed a towel and wiped his face down, before draping it behind his neck. He still felt pretty wired from the fight with his clones, and with a lot of energy to spare. He had gone toe to toe with many people: his dad, Batman, Lady Shiva, Bronze Tiger and Richard Dragon. They were the few fighters he encountered who gave him a hard time.

Even as a young mercenary, without very much experience in the field, he made up for it with his fast learning curve. It certainly helped that his clones could share memories and the training he pushed himself to learn.

He leaned against the wall, and recalled his time training with the nine-tailed fox. He learned how to greatly enhance his abilities with chakra while working with the beast he once feared, and it served him greatly in the long run. Under the guise of his alter-ego, he was able to use the power as much as he wanted, but he knew to moderate its use in order to stay under the radar, and not be chased to replicate his chakra.

During one of his meetings with Joe, he made it very clear that if mankind found out how Nathaniel was using his power, they would come after him and any family he had to use it for themselves. But now, as a civilian, he had to stay hidden to use it, in order to not attract any unwanted attention.

" **You're very good with your hands, brat,"** Kurama growled sarcastically from Nathaniel's subconscious, " **Maybe you could teach others how to play with their poles,"**

"Oh, Would you like a side of special sauce for you meal today furball, I'm sure that would bring in the vixens. Wait never mind." Nathaniel retorted. Before Kurama could roar out his anger, Nathaniel cut off the connection with him so that he may train in peace. Before he continued his daily session, he heard his phone ring.

"A call? Now? Someone has no life," he thought out loud. A smile spread across his face when he saw the caller's ID picture. It was his friend, Tali Mahoney, a woman who had been his best friend since middle school.

"Morning glory," He said when he answered the call.

"Good morning to you too, Whiskers," he heard her giggle as she replied. She knew how much being called 'Whiskers' still bothered him. Even though she couldn't see him, she knew his eye was twitching in irritation.

"So what's up, Short Change?" He heard a grumble on the other end. No matter what, he could use her diminutive height against her to get back for anything.

"Well the gang and I decided to meet up for brunch today. And we were wondering if you wanted to join us." She asked, hoping he would accept.

Nathaniel quickly went over his to-do list in his head before answering, "Sure what time?"

"Be at the Denny's downtown by the Gotham Museum by 11am, OK."

"Alright sound like a plan. I will see you there."

"Ok Nate see you then. Bye"

"Bye"

"Oh, Nate before I go, I gotta tell you something really quick."

"What's up?"

"Call me short again, I'll take your feet off and stick em on your head. You catch my drift Whiskers?"

"That remark cost you your turn to pick what we watch on movie night."

Nathan ended the call with a chuckle and checked the time on his phone. It was 7:29, which gave him a few more hours to train. He puts his phone back on the workbench, connected it to the radio to play his workout songs, then ran to the monkey bars to start his daily aerobics and speed.

"OHOHOHOH," he jokingly imitated a monkey while swinging from one spot to another. He hit the end of the first level and starts swinging full rotations until he gained enough momentum to leap to the upper levels. He grabbed a rope and swung to an unstable platform.

The platform wobbled, threatening to throw him off, but it was easily remedied with a redistribution of chakra under his feet.

After maintaining equilibrium for a few minutes, he jumped down to the floor, and did his cooldown stretches before he grabbed his stuff and headed out. He shut the door to the warehouse, reactivated the security seal on the door and jogged away from the pier, back to his apartment downtown.

* * *

Close to noon, the weather turned rainy as the residents of Gotham were going through their day. But running past them was a blonde haired figure, who sprinted as if his life depended on it.

"Crap, I'm late," Nathaniel thought as he ran toward the entrance to Denny's and saw his friends sitting in a corner booth chatting through the window. He dashed inside, shook off any accumulated rainwater and moved to join his friends. He cursed himself for forgetting an umbrella but got over it when he reached his friend's table and took off his soaked jacket before sitting down.

"Whiskers! You made it," Tali said, grinning. Now that they were face to face, Nathaniel could take in how stunning she was. She was 5'5 tall with a petite frame, but seemed smaller, the way her long, flowing black hair seemed to envelope her.

As soon as he sat down, he became bewitched by her hazel-colored eyes, which stood out brilliantly from her pale skin. He never met anyone who was so pale, which itself was eye catching, but more so was how her pallid features were broken up by the tattoo of a black swirl under her left eye.

What stood out the most to him was the Ankh necklace she always wore. She once told him that it was a memento from her mother and she wanted to cherish her memories. It was something he could relate to, the way he lost his own mom shortly after he met her.

For as long as he could remember, he had a crush on her, but when he finally worked up enough nerve to ask her out when they were in high school, she turned him down, saying that she preferred being friends with him. He figured that she had eyes for another guy, but then again, he never saw her dating any men at all for as long as he knew her.

Beside her was a brown haired man, who had a narrow, oblong face with pudgy cheekbones and an angled chin. He had wide eyes that were electric blue, and thick eyebrows that were arched over and that followed the curve of his eyes. A thin nose that pointed straight out over his big lips where you can see his elongated canines sticking out. The guy had a big frame that was shown with his athletic build and stood at an impressive 6'3 making him the tallest of the group. He was wearing a graphic tee-shirt of Mortal Kombat with Scorpion and Sub-Zero ready to attack each other. He had on blue pants that were baggy but held up by a belt and white New Balance shoes. This friend of Nathan was Charles Porter, an old friend since High School, and current prankster partner that enjoy the little things they pull on each other.

Sitting next to Charles was Nickolas Tecate. Also brown-haired, his was much deeper in color, matching his coffee-brown eyes. He was tall, standing at 6' 1", and even though he was quite overweight, he held himself quite well despite his size. He had a chiseled, yet slightly rounded jaw, that nicely complimented his handsome features. But was not without his small imperfections. Like Tali, he too was deathly pale, but his eyes had dark circles around them that were hidden by his ever present sunglasses. It wasn't that he was conscious about his eyes, but more that he needed them, due to the searing pain direct sunlight caused him. Further marring his face were scars on his chin, lips and forehead. Despite his size he was naturally very strong, and he had a knack for picking up interesting talents and finding information that would have been overlooked by his peers.

Compared to what Charles was wearing, Nickolas's clothes were quite minimalist. He wore a white t-shirt, loose-fitting blue jeans, a pair of hiking boots (which were one of the few shoes that could fit his enormous feet) and a black, hooded jacket.

Beside Nickolas were the twins Sally and Holly Hollister. Both had red hair, and identical wide, oblong faces with a tucked in chin. Their other features: noses that were small and curved upwards slightly making people see a bit of their nostrils, thin lips that were shown with some red lipgloss, round eyes, and even the moles on their cheeks were completely identical. The pair stood at 5'7 just over Tali by a couple of inches, much to her annoyance. The only way to distinguish between them were their eyes. The twins had heterochromatic eyes that were different for the pair of them. Holly had one blue eye in her left and a green eye in her right. Sally was the opposite.

Nathan looked over his assembled group of close friends before joining things, "So, what did I miss?"

 **30 Minutes later**

The whole group was bursting out laughing while Nathan was hanging his head in embarrassment by what Charles did.

"Man, I can't believe you fell for that Nate" Charles said, trying to restrain himself from laughing.

"Don't remind me," he replied with a quiet voice.

"Whatever you say, cucumber," Charles answered, before loosing his joyous laughter.

"That's not going away anytime soon is it," Nathan asked as his face gradually turned bright red, and a vein bulged on his forehead.

"As long as you're gullible to a good joke, NOPE!"

"I hate you"

"I bask in your hate,"

"Well, I could tell Holly about _that_ story."

Charles paled at the thought of his girlfriend hearing about one of his more embarrassing experiences. When they were in high school together, Charles fell for this new girl in their science class, so after a bit of encouragement from Nick, Charles almost asked her out until he noticed that the girl had an adam's apple the size of a tennis ball and a voice like a pro wrestler, indicating that she was a actually crossdressing man. Nathan and Nick were dying laughing at Charles situation and the poor guy made them swear not to tell a soul."You wouldn't,"

"Try me bub" Nathan says with a smile.

Before the fun could continue, Nathan's phone started ringing. He groaned quietly about having to be taken away from his friends, but in his secret life, it was a must. So Nathan excused himself and stepped outside and took the call under the restaurant's awning.

"Hello?"

"Hello, son." Ah, it was his dad.

"Hey dad, what's up?"

"I got a new job that i thought you would be interested in trying. The people hiring are paying very handsomely for it's completion, and i recommended you for it."

Nathan was a little surprised. His dad, the hardass, hardworking, mercenary was passing up work for him. Unusual as it was, he couldn't help but feel excited. The opportunity to show off his skills and gain more contracts was not one to be passed.

"OK dad, I'll bite, what's the job," Nathan asked.

"Where are you at right now?"

"I'm at the Denny's in downtown Gotham with my friends. Tali got us together for some fun." Nathan said, then grumbled about being stupid for falling for a stupid joke.

"I'm sending Wintergreen to pick you up. These are some clients to have under your belt Nathan, and I don't want disappointing them with a bad performance," Slade said. Nathaniel could hear the seriousness in his voice. It was the same tone he always used when giving instructions ever since he was a kid.

Nathaniel sighed. Somehow, he always ended up with a client when he is with his friends. "Can it wait till i'm done here? I haven't seen my friends in a while."

There was a small pause on the line before he heard his dad's answer, "Alright. In an hour, meet Wintergreen at the museum and he will take you to your apartment. I'll be waiting for you there."

"Ok, dad. Take care."

"You as well, son."

Nathan hung up the phone, slipped it into his pocket, and reentered the Denny's to sit back where he was. Tali looked at Nathan with a smirk and asked, "So, what was more important than us?"

"The other woman he spends time with when you're not around," Nick interjected. It was common knowledge among them all that Tali rejected Nathaniel's advances, and each one of them took jabs at her for it, trying to coax her into accepting him as more than a friend.

They all had their chuckle before Nathaniel answered. "It was my dad. He wants to meet me later for something in an hour."

"Oh yeah? What," Sally wondered.

"Don't know. He didn't say."

"Yeesh, a grown man who still gets ordered around by his dad. Can you say 'Norman Bates?' I bet Nate's going to dress like him and kill people in the shower," Nick chipped in, much to everyone else's dismay. As an avid movie watcher, Nick loved to relate the memorable scenes to real life, just like Nathan and his bad game quotes. It got so bad one time where Tali actually whacked both of their heads together during a back and forth between Zero Wing and Blue Velvet, much to the relief of everyone else.

"Well that sucks bro," Charles said, wanting to avoid another media banter," I was hoping to catch the 12:45 showing of The Intern with Robert De Niro and Anne Hathaway."

 **(Great movie. You should see it.)**

"Maybe we could catch the late showing today, if my editor doesn't stop bugging me for the newest manuscript." Nathan said with a huff. His dad was a hardass, but his editor was worse than he ever was. Great fellow, but his constant yapping led him to believe that he didn't know the word 'mute.' A chihuahua was more tame than him.

"Anyways Nathan" Holly began saying, "I heard a rumor that you had a little 'get together' with Caitlin a couple days ago. I hear tell that some heavy making out was involved. Is that true?"

It wasn't true, but the mere idea hit Nathaniel like a bus. Unfortunately, at the time, he was taking a sip from his drink, which he started choking and sputtering at the notion.

Without even looking, Tali raised her hand, and brought it down hard on Nathaniel's back, clearing his lungs, and making him cough loudly. He took a few deep breaths before facing Holly."The hell? Where did you hear that crap," he asked, wide eyed.

Holly looked at what she had caused: Tali's worried face, and Nate sputtering in denial. It was priceless. Of course, she was smart enough to know it was false, but she couldn't help but throw it out there to gauge their reactions. "I'm just messing with you Nathan," she giggled, "Jeez. Can't take a joke after all. Maybe that's why Charles has so much fun pranking you and getting you with bad jokes."

Nathan grumbled at Holly, but at the same time, nervously glanced at Tali, who looked like she's ready to flip the table. For as long as he knew her, she was drop dead scary when she got mad. The last time he saw her this upset, she knocked out a guy who got too frisky with her and threw him into a trashcan.

Tali wasn't amused at all. The ancient rules bound her to be neutral to the situation with Nathaniel, but even so, Holly's words boiled her blood. Despite the boundaries that had been laid for her and her siblings, she broke the biggest one among them: she had fallen in love with a mortal. She struggled to keep things between them friendly, but she couldn't deny how she felt for him, and it hurt worse knowing it was exactly that which would lead to his downfall one day.

The time passed, and as much as he wanted to stay, Nathaniel had to leave his friends.

With a farewell to them as they split up for the day, he stepped out to the rainy sidewalk, and put up his hood. He looked around before he started heading over to the museum, thinking about what his father had in mind.

Usually, missions from dad were easy pickings: take out a crime boss, bodyguard duty for weakling politicians and so on. Something in his bones was telling him that this one was going to be different from the norm. Something big. He arrived at the front of the museum and saw the familiar face of Wintergreen, his dad's butler. With a pat on the back and a quick 'hello,' Nathaniel climbed into the backseat of the limo, and rode to his apartment. Nathan knew Wintergreen for a while, and they were like distant relatives to each other, Nathan the nephew, and Wintergreen the soft spoken uncle who was there for his family.

"Nathan, did you have fun with your friends," Wintergreen spoke, trying to strike a conversation with Slade's son.

The only answer he got was an indistinct mumble in the back, leading him to believe that it wasn't a pleasant experience. That is, until Nathaniel answered, "Yeah, it was fine. But I fell for another one of Charles' jokes again. I swear i'll get him back for that, peshka…" he mumbled the the last part, but it was heard by Wintergreen.

"Any idea why dad wanted to see me William," Nathan asked him, trying to fish for information.

"I would tell you, my dear boy, but I don't know anything about the assignment your father has for you," he apologized, which caused Nathan to frown slightly. He was hoping to know what was going on, but he let it drop for now. He figured the only way to learn was to get there and hear it first hand.

After a small drive, they arrived at Nathan's apartment. Wintergreen parked on the street, then they both proceeded to the front door of his apartment. Nathan unlocked the door and entered with Wintergreen close behind him. He flicked on the lights and saw his dad sitting in his favorite arm chair.

"Hello, son,"

"Hey, dad,"

Nathan sat down on the couch, and faced his father, while Wintergreen headed into the kitchen to fetch the two some drinks.

"So, what's the job?"

"This is something that I personally recommended you for, Nathaniel. And I expect you to take this seriously. This client was very specific on what must be done." Slade picked up a file that was sitting on the little table next to the arm chair and set it in front of his son for him to see. Nathan picked up the file, curious to see what his dad picked out for him. He opened the file, and his curiosity became surprise.

"Is this a joke," he asked

"I do not joke about this kind of work, Nathan," Slade said. He knew his son wouldn't believe it if he hadn't delivered it personally. After all, who would be crazy enough to request such a mission?

"So this is legit?"

"Yes. You have been hired to break into Lexcorp, steal everything of value to the company, and return to the drop point."

 **Breaking into Lexcorp, wow! I'm excited to write it. I do apologize for the writing but i am still learning. I have a challenge story for anyone who is interested for Naruto crossovers, so throw me a PM if your interested. Flamers i do challenge you to write your own if you don't like my work, I'll help you in anyway i can.**

 **En Taro Adun!**


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